You may have never heard of Marion Balsamo, she has a tendency to fly under the radar.
But let me tell you-she is by far one of the best rail skiers I've ever seen!
If you've ever watched her ski in person; you're immediately struck by her big bag of tricks, but more impressively to me, her consistency. Watching her land a back 6 or 2p2 first try really makes her stand out.
We picked up Marion for our team last spring.
Heading into this season we really wanted to provide a way for people to directly support Marion. We've all seen skiers do things like "GoFundMe's" to help with the heavy expenses of a comp season. We wanted to provide a way for people to do the same thing but with a little more substance. So we designed this signature T for her! With 100% of the proceeds going directly to Marion. The T shirt was designed by artist Taylor Harper working directly with Marion to represent her passions. Skiing and Rodeo!
Growing up on a farm in New Mexico, Marion is a self proclaimed "horse girl"
She has competed in Rodeo since the age of 12. As well as still competing at a collegiate level in CO where she currently goes to school.
Marion first hopped on skis at the age of 4 and started competing locally at the age of 9.
At 19 yrs she is now ranked 8th in the nation in women's slopestyle. She will be competing in Olympic qualifiers, such as Dew Tour; fighting for one of 4-5 spots on the US Olympic team.
What is so crazy, but also so sick about skiing, is that you can be ranked 8th in the nation. Yet still just be a skier out having fun. Thinking about someone in another sport at that same level. They would have a strict training program, coaches, be on a team, etc.
Meanwhile Marion is literally just driving up to Copper and taking laps by herself or with friends. No coach, no rules. Just skiing! And she has a chance at being in the Olympics?!?! Truly a wild and beautiful thing about skiing.
If you would like to support Marion. You can purchase her T shirt here. https://gilsonsnow.com/gear/team-marion-purple-rush-tee